Well, this took a bit longer than it ought to, but I finally got around to it! We're on Day 14 if you forgot.
Early in the morning, Deebus reached the cave of Scornhollow, where the Tufubukulin lived. As he approached the mound, all the kobolds outside stopped and came over to him. He greeted them and came into their cave, but declined their food: there was business to attend to. He asked for the names of all that had grieved them, and if they knew where other beasts might lie. For some reason they seemed reluctant to tell him the names of those that had grieved them, but one hunter told him where some nearby monsters might be. Deebus thanked her, and promised the tribe he would return shortly.
A short walk to the northwest were two very strange creatures, perhaps great evil spirits come down from the Mountains, living as their kind seemed to in groves of stone pillars. Deebus crept onto the smooth stones, looking for the first. Like a great burning cloud it was, compressed into a shape with four legs, and had scalded many to death. Deebus wondered how such a thing could be killed. Perhaps he could fan it hard enough and disperse it, or maybe there was a heart of some kind to pierce within the cloud?
He would have to try. Carefully, he crept upon the thing, which perhaps had no steamy eyes to see him, and when he was directly beneath it, he struck.
Instantly, the beast exploded into a boiling cloud with an ear-splitting shriek. Deebus thought it was upon him and covered himself from the scalding vapor with his cloaks, but after a few moments, he heard water pattering down around him. All that was left of the thing was a great puddle.
Deebus reached the other stone-grove while the sun just barely passed it's midpoint. Snasnu, the other spirit, was also a cloud, but in a more discernible shape, a giant skunk with wings. They had warned him that it also spun webs to trap its victims.
Unfortunately, he hadn't had time to get into cover when he came within sight of Strasnu, and it saw him and charged. Sticky ropes came flying from the cloud, but Deebus was to quick, dashing to the side. The spirit threw its snares again and again, until finally it caught Deebus running sideways. With no room to run circle-wise, Deebus ducked behind a pillar to avoid the webs and rolled out of sight. Coming up behind it, he swiped his spear through one of its legs and the whole limb exploded and boiled away.
He danced around the Strasnu, avoiding its swipes and swiping through it again and again, until at last it was left legless and wingless, nearly as shapeless as its cousin. With a final sweep, he parted the head. When the cloud cleared, there was only a puddle of water. A puddle of water, and a strange chunk, at the same time solid yet mist. The only surviving piece of the creature's flesh. Tufubukulin would appreciate the unique treasure.
Deebus didn't know how many of these greater evil spirits there might be in the world, but if they were made of steam, he sure knew how to fight them.
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Topic: The journey of Deebus, a kobold story. (Read 193018 times)